Red
by ImagineAspen
Summary: Dramione 6th year AU With a war on the horizon, Dumbledore is pushing interhouse unity more than ever. Draco is having a hard time dealing with the impossible task he must complete, and Hermione is having a hard enough time dealing with him.
1. Chapter 1

Hello to all who read this, and welcome to Red! This is my first multi-chapter fanfiction, and I'll try to make updates as quick as I can. I don't really know what else I'm supposed to write here... Happy Civic Holiday to any of my fellow Canadians; I didn't even know there was a holiday today until this morning. I guess they just wanted a holiday in August? Also, Microsoft Word makes these chapters look quite a lot longer. I guess the chapters won't be very long in this story. Sorry about that! But look at it this way; the shorter the chapters, the shorter the wait between them! Anyway, enough of me rambling, onto the story!

Disclaimer: As much as I'm sure that J. K. Rowling spends her time writing Dramione fanfiction, I am not her, and I do not own Harry Potter.

**Chapter 1**

Hermione Granger was sitting on her bed in the Burrow, triple-checking all of her bags. Today was September 1st, she was finally going back to Hogwarts, one of her favourite places on the planet. She could not be more excited.

It had been a lovely summer. She and the Weasleys had thrown a surprise birthday party for Harry Potter, her best friend. She thought that Ronald Weasley, her other best friend was maybe starting to reciprocate her feelings. She had liked him since third year, at least, but whenever she dropped hints, he never seemed to get it.

"Merlin, Hermione, have you got enough books there?"

That was Ginny Weasley, Ron's sister and probably Hermione's closest female friend. She and Ginny always shared a room at the Burrow.

Hermione was rummaging through her bag, making sure she had all her necessary books and equipment. She was bringing even more books to school than normal, but she had the feeling this was going to be a big year.

But Hermione was ready. Ready for whatever work her teachers threw at her. Ready for whatever she would have to do this year to help Harry on his quest to beat Voldemort. And most of all, Hermione was ready to start studying for her NEWTS, the big tests she'd have to take next year.

"Yes, Ginny. I need them all. You never know when you're going to need..." she trailed off, seeing a book she had left in her pile to leave behind. "Oh, maybe I should take this one too."

Ginny snorted. "Well, hurry up anyway," she said. "We should go eat breakfast, and then we really need to get going."

Hermione smiled. They were going back to Hogwarts!

* * *

After saying farewell to Mr and Mrs Weasley at the train station, Hermione and her friends boarded the Hogwarts express. Hermione loved the feeling of stepping on the train every year. It was always so pretty, gleaming so brightly, and the first step was like boarding the plane after a long vacation. A bit disappointing the vacation was over, but so nice to finally be going home.

"Come on, let's find a compartment," Ron said.

"Yes," Hermione said. "But Ron, we need to go to the Prefect's Carriage first."

Hermione and Ron were the Gryffindor Prefects in their year.

"Oh, come on!" Ron complained. "Can't we at least say hi to Neville and Luna first?"

They quickly found the compartment Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood were sitting in.

"Neville! Luna!" Hermione cried.

"Hey, Hermione," Neville said. "Have a good summer?"

"Pretty good, you?"

"My gran was really pleased with what we did last year at the ministry." Neville smiled. "Says I remind her of my dad."

"I had a good summer too," Luna said. "Father and I went on vacation to look for Snorkaks."

"Find any?" Ron asked. Hermione could see his lips twitching.

"No," Luna said sadly. "Someday, though."

After saying hello to their friends, Hermione and Ron left to go to the Prefect's Carriage. They ran into many of their classmates on the way.

"Hey, Dean, Seamus."

"Off for some alone time?" Seamus grinned. "Are you two a couple, now, then?"

Hermione blushed. "No, Seamus, no. We're going to the Prefects Carriage."

"Ah," Seamus said. "Pity. Lavender will be pleased, mind you."

Ron was confused. "Why would Lavender care?"

Hermione quickly took Ron by the arm and began to lead him out of the carriage. "You know Lavender," she said. "Such a gossip."

She wasn't sure how Ron hadn't realized Lavender had a massive crush on him, but then again, he hadn't noticed Hermione, either. In any case, Hermione was not about to enlighten him to Lavender's feelings. They said farewell to Dean and Seamus and went on their way.

As soon as they opened the door to the Prefect's Carriage, a familiar drawl reached Hermione's ears.

"Well, if it isn't the Weasel King and his pet Mudblood," said Draco Malfoy. Hermione rolled her eyes. Way to put a damper in her spirits. But she would not let Malfoy put her in a bad mood. She would ignore him.

"Watch your language, Malfoy, or I'll-"

"Ron!" Hermione snapped. "You're only encouraging him by reacting."

"But he called you a..."

"I know," Hermione said, "and I don't care. Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me. Muggle expression," she added at Ron's confused look. "Now let's go; we need to patrol."

"Yeah," Malfoy said. "Get out of here Granger, we don't want you stinking up our carriage."

"Oh, Malfoy," Hermione said. "Do shut up, won't you?"

And she and Ron walked away.

* * *

When they returned to their friends' compartment, Ron was still in a sour mood.

"Run in with Malfoy," Hermione explained. The others nodded sympathetically.

"Remember when we saw him at Diagon Alley?" Harry said. "I think he's up to something."

As he explained the encounter to Neville and Luna, Hermione drifted out of the conversation. She was not in the mood to listen to Harry's suspicions; she instead looked out the window, watching the country side roll by.

Soon, they would be there, at Hogwarts. The excitement bubbled up in Hermione's stomach. She couldn't wait. Despite the war she knew was looming on the horizon, Hermione couldn't shake the feeling that this year was going to be the best yet.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello to all reading this; here is the second chapter of Red. I still don't know what I'm supposed to talk about in these author notes, so I'll let you get on to reading. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I didn't own Harry Potter two days ago, and I still don't now. I'll be sure to let you know in the next update if anything's changed, though.

**Chapter 2**

Ah, to be going back to Hogwarts. Draco Malfoy wouldn't say that this made him happy, exactly, but it didn't make him angry, which was good, because everything seemed to make him angry these days.

Angry or scared, but Draco didn't like to admit to the scared part.

After hanging out in the Prefect's Carriage long enough to annoy Granger and Weasley (Granger's face when she was trying to contain her exasperation was quite amusing, and seeing Weasley's face go red was always fun), he and his fellow Slytherin sixth year Prefect, Pansy Parkinson had left to return to the sixth year Slytherin's compartment.

They were _supposed _to be patrolling, but he didn't really feel like it. And besides, he felt that the people on the train should be able to handle themselves for a few hours. They were all at least eleven, which was old enough not to need supervision, wasn't it? And also, Draco didn't really feel like spending more time alone with Parkinson than necessary.

Right now, for instance, while they were walking, she had reached up to hold onto his arm. He quickly jerked it away.

She frowned. "Everything okay, Draco?' she asked.

"Malfoy," he said, "and I'm fine."

"Okay, then," she said. She was disappointed.

Draco didn't care.

* * *

Sitting back in the Slytherin compartment, Draco was reflecting on how much he disliked his so-called 'friends'. There was Parkinson, of course. She was always asking Draco about his feelings, and how he was going, and if everything was okay. And she was very touchy, always touching his arm, or giving him unwanted hugs. He was surprised, and very grateful, that she hadn't tried to kiss him yet.

There were also Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. A conversation with them was almost as intellectual as a conversation with a brick wall. They were good for following orders at least.

Theodore Nott might just have been the worst. He had liked Nott quite a lot until this summer. Nott knew that Draco had been given some sort of task from the Dark Lord, and the idiot was _jealous!_ If only he knew, Draco thought.

"If the Dark Lord had honoured me with a job," Nott was saying now, "I would complete it promptly and gladly. I'd get my Dark Mark right now if I could, but Dad says to wait until I'm done with school."

"Two more years..." Crabbe murmured.

"You _want _to be a Death Eater?" Blaise Zabini said incredulously. Of Draco's friends, Zabini was his favourite. He was pretty quiet, and he usually stayed out of other people's business.

"You don't?" Nott replied. "Don't you want to rid the wizarding world of Mudblood scum?"

"Sure," Zabini said, "But I'm not stupid enough to risk my life for it. As soon as I'm done Hogwarts, I'm moving out of the country until the war's over."

"Your parents are okay with that?" Draco asked.

Zabini nodded. "My mother prefers I stay out of the whole thing. My father's dead, so he doesn't really get a say."

Draco was envious. His parents, especially his father, had made it clear he was to be a Death Eater as soon as the Dark Lord had returned. And his aunt Bellatrix Lestrange was even worse. He had only met her in the past year, and she was harder on him than his father ever was.

If he hadn't wanted to be a Death Eater, his father would have at least considered his words before forcing him. Aunt Bella (that was what she insisted he called him, but Draco found it so completely unnatural) would probably kill him.

And she was the head of his house now that his father was imprisoned. She was glad that the Dark Lord had given him a task, she told him to be proud and hold his head high. She said she would give her own son to the Dark Lord in a heartbeat, if she had one. Draco was almost as scared of her as he was of the Dark Lord. Bellatrix Lestrange was completely insane.

He stared out the window of the train, reflecting on how his life had gone downhill so quickly in the past summer. He wasn't excited to be going back to Hogwarts, but at least it was better than his house.

* * *

Draco was sitting at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall, picking at his food and wondering if every meal was going to be this torturous now. He was trying to avoid looking at Dumbledore, but he could just sense the wizard sitting with all the teachers, not knowing that he was next on the Dark Lord's list to kill.

And Draco was to do the deed. The thought made him feel sick.

He felt Parkinson's hand on his arm. "Are you alright, Draco? You've barely eaten anything."

"I'm _fine_," he snapped. "And call me Malfoy."

"Okay, Malfoy," she said, "if you say so."

Draco glared at her for a moment, before returning to his meal, and forcing himself to eat. The food was not helping the sickness in his stomach.

Dumbledore stood up during the meal to make announcements; probably going to say the same things he said every year. Draco tried to ignore him; he really did not want to listen to Dumbledore's voice.

_You're going to die,_ he thought. _You're going to die and I'm going to do it. _

He wasn't sure how yet, though. He was hoping to fix the vanishing cabinet in the Room of Requirement, but he didn't know how. At Diagon Alley, he had asked Borgin at Borgin & Burkes, but the shop keeper had no clue. He had to think of something though, or Voldemort was going to kill him. Draco did not want to die.

But he didn't want to kill Dumbledore, either. The thought of killing someone, of taking another person's life made Draco feel as though he had swallowed something vile and poisonous. Even if he somehow managed to get Dumbledore disarmed and alone, Draco was not very confident he would be able to carry out the deed.

_I might die at the end of this year. There is a very high chance that I _will _die at the end of this year, if I don't-_

"-what the old bat wants us to do now?"

Zabini was speaking to him.

"What?" Draco said.

"I _said, _I wonder what the old bat wants us to do now?"

"Huh?"

Zabini sighed. "Were you even listening? Dumbledore just said he wants all the sixth years to come here during last class on Friday. Are you okay? You've been acting weird all day."

"I am perfectly _fine_, Zabini. I couldn't be finer!"

Zabini looked unconvinced. "Alright then, Malfoy."

Draco needed to get better at hiding his emotions, quickly.


	3. Chapter 3

Here's Chapter 3! I was hoping to get this posted quite a bit sooner than this, so I am very sorry for the delay. I will try my hardest to get Chapter 4 posted promptly. Have fun reading!

Disclaimer: Still don't own Harry Potter. What a shocker,

**Chapter 3**

Hermione's first week back at Hogwarts was going wonderfully. She had already earned twenty points for Gryffindor, she had mastered the new spell they were learning in Charms, and she had finished her Potions essay two weeks early.

Yes, life was grand.

Well, nearly. Hermione felt bad for thinking this, but the one thing that could make her any happier was if Harry would stop being so annoying!

She loved her friend, she really did, but she wished Harry would stop talking, just for a little.

His 'I think Malfoy's up to something' theory has expanded into 'Malfoy's most certainly a Death Eater' and Harry just would not shut up about it! Hermione for one, did not see how Voldemort would allow a sixteen year old to be a Death Eater, especially a coward like Malfoy.

"Think about it, Hermione!" Harry said. When she opened her mouth to object, Harry pressed on. "No, really, listen to me! Lucius Malfoy is in Azkaban, so Malfoy has replaced him! And Voldemort doesn't care about age, he just cares about followers. Besides, maybe he needs somebody at Hogwarts for something."

"He has Snape," Hermione reminded him.

"He could have a job Snape can't do, for whatever reason. He knows that Dumbledore knows Snape is a Death Eater; he needs Malfoy, because nobody would suspect it! It's obvious."

"I dunno Harry," Ron said. "Seems rather far-fetched to me."

"No, Ron, you don't understand-"

"Harry," Hermione interrupted. "_You_ don't understand. You have no proof that Malfoy is up to anything, except him acting a bit odd at Diagon Alley. There are millions of other explanations for his behaviour there; we've already talked about that. You can't just jump to conclusions without any proof."

"Hermione's right, Harry," Ron said.

Harry scowled. "Fine, but I _know_ he's a Death Eater. Both of you will be sorry when you find out I'm right."

"Sure, sure," Ron said, putting his arms around Harry and Hermione's shoulders. "Now, let's work on our Potions essays, shall we? What does the Prince have to say about Truth Potions?"

Hermione shrugged Ron's shoulder off her and crossed her arms. The Prince. Another reason Harry was somewhat grating on her nerves. If the theorizing completely devoid of logic wasn't enough, her friend was also cheating in Potions class. His Potions book was full of the previous owner's notes and adjustments to instructions, and the previous owner, whoever he was, clearly excelled at the subject.

The Half-Blood Prince, he called himself. Hermione rolled her eyes. He must have been terribly full of himself, to call himself a prince. _Or she_, she thought. Someone of that intelligence had a very high probability of being a girl. Plus Harry and Ron got very defensive whenever she suggested the Prince was female, and she took a lot of pleasure in that.

"I wish you wouldn't use that book," Hermione said. "You're cheating, it's dishonest."

"Come on, Hermione," Ron said. "If Slughorn didn't want anyone to use that book, he wouldn't have put it with all the other used books."

"Or he hasn't had a chance to go through all the used books, seeing as he's a new teacher," Hermione argued. "Have you ordered a new book yet, Harry?"

"_Yes_, Hermione, I've ordered a new book," Harry said. "I sent the order off yesterday."

"Good. Hopefully it'll come in soon, and then you can stop using that one." Hermione scowled.

Ron shook his head. "The only reason you care so much is you don't like Harry beating you at Potions."

"What? No! That is not true!" Hermione protested. That wasn't the reason at all! Well, maybe slightly. Very, very slightly. Okay, yes, she didn't like that Harry was beating her at Potions, but that was only because he was doing it unfairly. If Harry truly excelled at Potions, and was better than her, she wouldn't care at all, she promised.

Ron laughed. "Yeah, whatever. Keep telling yourself that."

Hermione glared at him. "Well, I... I'm going to go to Transfiguration. I, for one, am done my Potions essay, and I have something to ask Professor McGonagall about NEWTS."

"Those aren't even until next year!" Ron exclaimed.

"I always think it's good to get a head start. Have fun cheating; I'll see you in Transfiguration."

She could see Ron and Harry both trying not to laugh. She gathered her things angrily, and walked away, her head held high.

"See ya, Hermione," she heard Harry say behind her.

* * *

In Transfiguration they were working on transfiguring living objects. Professor McGonagall had given them lizards, which they were meant to be transforming into ferrets.

Hermione stared at her lizard and concentrated, thinking of ferrets. Immediately the image of a snowy white ferret arose in her mind. She smiled, remembering, and easily turned the lizard into an albino ferret. It looked exactly like Malfoy had looked that time in fourth year. She had felt slightly guilty about laughing at him –Moody could have really hurt him– but the git had deserved it, for being so nasty.

Ron, who was sitting next to Hermione, saw her Malfoy ferret and started laughing heartily, allowing his lizard to escape from him. He swore loudly and went chasing after it, earning him a "_Language, _Mr. Weasley, and concentrate on your own work, not Ms. Granger's" from McGonagall. "Incidentally," she added, "five points to Gryffindor for Ms. Granger's quick work in transfiguring her lizard."

Ron grabbed the lizard and returned to his table.

"What do you suppose Dumbledore wants?" Harry asked.

Ron shrugged. "We go to the Great Hall after this, yeah?"

Hermione nodded. "I wish I knew what this was about, though."

"I guess we'll find out," said Harry.

* * *

When they reached the Great Hall after Transfiguration, most of the sixth years were already there. Dumbledore was standing at the front of the room, with Snape standing on one side with a roll of parchment in his hands. McGonagall was standing on his other side, with Sprout beside her. Shortly after Harry, Ron and Hermione had arrived, little Professor Flitwick came running in, to skid to a stop beside Snape. Dumbledore chuckled and stepped forward.

"Now that we are all here," he said (Flitwick smiled sheepishly), "I'll tell you the reason for this meeting." He paused, making sure everyone was paying attention. "Inter-house unity," he announced, and an outbreak of grumbling erupted from the students, the Slytherins in particular. Dumbledore waited until everyone shut up before continuing. "With a war which is inevitably going to happen, it is more important than ever for us to be united as a school. You all know the saying: United we stand, divided we fall. Unfortunately, many of us see our peers in other houses as opponents, rivals, or even enemies."

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Harry muttered.

Ron nodded.

"Quiet!" Hermione whispered.

"Since you are all quite unwilling to interact with members of different houses, I have decided to start a little project this year, and your year has been granted the great honour of being the... guinea pigs, as they say."

"Why us?" called out Seamus Finnigan.

"The fifth and seventh years are very busy with their OWLS and NEWTS, respectively. The fourth years are also partaking in this project; I spoke to them yesterday. Now," Dumbledore continued, "the project is very simple, really. You will be paired up with someone in a different house, with whom we have taken special care to insure you don't know well, and every Tuesday and Thursday, you will have a free period which you must spend with them. You may use this time to study or do homework, so long as you stay with your partner and stay inside the school. At the end of the year, you will write an essay on the importance of inter-house unity and how this has affected you, but more information will be given on that as we approach June. Also, you will be expected to complete any projects you are given in classes you share with your partner together." Dumbledore gestured to Snape. "Professor Snape will now read out the list of partners, as he has so graciously paired you all up for me."

Hermione's heart sank. _Snape _chose the partners? Her hopes of being paired with a smart Ravenclaw vanished.

Snape stepped forwards, unravelling the parchment. "When I call your name," he said. "You and your partner will exit the Great Hall and spend the rest of the period getting acquainted." He rolled his eyes slightly; obviously he thought this was a waste of time. "Hannah Abbott and Terry Boot."

The pair stood up, shooting relieved looks at each other, and exited the Great Hall.

"Ernie MacMillan and Ronald Weasley."

"Not him!" Ron muttered. "He's a git!"

And on the list went. Lavender was quite upset when paired with Theodore Nott, and poor Harry was paired with Goyle. Parvati looked sick when paired with Pansy Parkinson. Snape must have made sure to pick the worst possible partners for the Gryffindors. Hermione was not looking forward to receiving her partner. Looking around at the dwindling group of sixth years, she had a pretty good idea who she had been paired with.

She only hoped she was wrong. Finally, she heard Snape say, "Hermione Granger."

She held her breath.

"And Draco Malfoy."

Hermione sighed. Yep, just as she had thought.


	4. Chapter 4

Here's Chapter 4! Also, just to let everyone know, I'm leaving on vacation very soon and I don't know if I'll be able to update before I leave. I'll try to get an update in before I go, but if I don't the next update won't be until September. Anyway, I thought you all should know so nobody was wondering why I stopped updating.

Disclaimer: Still don't own Harry Potter. Go figure.

**Chapter 4**

Draco swore under his breath. He seriously had to be paired with _Granger? _ Granger, of all people? He glared at Snape as he rose from his seat. He had noticed that most of the Slytherins had been paired with Gryffindors, but he would have thought that Snape would have given _him_ an actual good partner.

Granger was wearing a look of annoyance that Draco was sure matched his own. He fell in pace beside her, and they walked towards the doors to leave the Great Hall. Draco turned at the last second to see Zabini being paired with a pretty Ravenclaw girl.

_Lucky git._

Granger began walking rapidly down the hallway as soon as they entered it.

"Where are you going?" Draco called.

"Library," she responded shortly, not stopping or looking back.

_Of course, _he thought, and walked faster to catch up to her.

The walk to the library was not a long one, especially with Granger walking like a mad woman, trying to stay ahead of Draco without actually running. To her obvious annoyance, he kept up with her easily.

"You're so _slow_, Granger," he drawled. "I don't even have to try."

She scowled, but didn't say anything.

When they reached the library, they sat down at opposite ends of a table and looked at each other without saying anything.

"Well?" Granger said after a minute of silence.

"Well, what?" Draco said.

She sighed. "Aren't we supposed to be getting to know each other or something?"

"I already know you well enough, Mudblood," Draco replied, his eyes narrowed.

Granger rolled her eyes. "You really need to find a new insult, Malfoy. That got old after second year. And anyway," she added, before Draco could tell her just how many insults for her he had (it was a very long list), "as much as I don't want to talk to you, we are going to have to work together on this project. Can you at least pretend to act civilly?"

He shook his head. "I don't act civilly with Mudbloods."

"You're impossible!" she cried out, and Madame Pince yelled "Quiet in the library!" Granger instantly dropped to a whisper and continued, "Look, I don't like this either but we really do need to work together on this."

"Speak up Granger, I can't hear you," Draco lied. It was so fun to get her riled up.

She breathed out very heavily through her nose, and then said, her hands clenched on the table, "I'll just ask you some questions about yourself, so we can _get acquainted_." Her voice was dripping in sarcasm as she quoted Snape.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Mudblood," he said.

Granger's clenched fists tightened on the table, but otherwise she attempted to hide her annoyance. She put on a (very forced, Draco thought) pleasant expression, and said "So, Malfoy, what's your favourite colour?"

_This is so stupid. _"Green," Draco said.

"How Slytherin of you," Granger remarked.

"Like your favourite colour isn't red," he retorted.

She smiled a little. "Yeah, it is... But not because of Gryffindor!" she added.

He raised an eyebrow.

"Well, not _just _because of Gryffindor," Granger said, and to Draco's surprise, she laughed a little. "Red is a very passionate colour," she added, "Much nicer than green."

"Green's calmer," Draco said.

"What's the fun in that?"

Were they seriously arguing about colours? "Why are we doing this, Granger?"

"Doing what?"

"Taking this 'getting acquainted' thing seriously? It's not like Dumbledore will know either way."

She shrugged. "Just because Dumbledore can't verify what we're doing doesn't mean we shouldn't follow his instructions. We're being honourable."

"Honourable," Draco repeated.

"Yes! Because we're following Dumbledore's instructions and not going off doing whatever. This is still class, even if we're not actually in a classroom."

"Well, I couldn't care less about being honourable," Draco said. "I couldn't care less what Dumbledore thinks. I'm actually being dishonourable to my family by talking to a filthy Mudblood like you for this long."

Granger looked almost disappointed. "This is going to be a very long year," she said, "if you're going to act like this all the time."

"Get used to it, Mudblood," Draco said, and stood up. "Anyway, your stench is killing me, so I'm going to go."

"Good," Granger said. "I'll be able to read."

He turned to walk away, when she added, "Meet me here, during our free periods on Tuesdays and Thursdays."

He didn't respond, and continued on, out of the library, and began his walk to the Room of Requirement.

* * *

He was sitting on the ground, leaning against the broken Vanishing Cabinet in the Room of Requirement, thinking about the Dark Lord and Dumbledore and death.

He had no idea how to repair the Vanishing Cabinet. He should have looked for a book on how to repair magical objects while he was at the library, but he couldn't go back there now, or Granger would force him to sit with her again. He glanced at his watch, and saw that it was well past the end of class. Everyone would be in dinner; Parkinson was probably wondering where he was.

He _could _go to the library, then, but he could feel in his gut that it would be futile. Vanishing Cabinets were so rare he seriously doubted a _school _would have a book on them. Still, though, he'd have to check. He somehow couldn't force himself to stand up, though.

After a great while, he realized dinner was almost over, and after staring at the complete lack of progress he had made, went to go grab himself a piece of toast or something.

* * *

After dinner, instead of returning to the Room of Requirement, like he should have done, Draco went to the Slytherin Common Room with his friends. Parkinson was quite worried about him, saying "Where were you?" and "You can't just eat _toast_ for dinner!"

After repeatedly telling her "I'm fine!", the talk turned to Dumbledore's project.

"Who'd you get paired with, Malfoy?" Nott asked.

"Mudblood Granger," Draco replied. "It's awful."

Nott made a face. "I can imagine. At least Granger's intelligent, though. Lavender Brown is brainless. Still, though, she's not a Mudblood, so I still beat you."

Zabini laughed. "I've got you both beat! I got paired with Lisa Turpin. She's pretty, she's not a Gryffindor..."

"What's her blood status?" Nott asked.

"Halfblood, I think," Zabini replied.

"And how's Potter, Goyle?" Nott asked.

Goyle shrugged. "Annoying," he said finally. "I hate Potter."

"You know who's _really _bad?" Parkinson said loudly. "Parvati Patil! I'm so mad at Snape; why would he put me with her?"

Nott laughed. "Poor Pansy," he said. "Is she a Mudblood?"

Parkinson shook her head. "I don't know. I didn't ask."

Draco was staring into the fire, thinking. "Do any of you know anything about Vanishing Cabinets?" he asked, and then regretted saying it.

Zabini shrugged. "Only that they transport people different places. I don't know how it works."

"Why are you asking?" Parkinson asked.

"No reason," said Draco. "Just... curious."

Nott stood up, and beckoned Draco over into a corner, out of earshot from the others. "Does this have anything to do with the task the Dark Lord gave you?"

"No," Draco lied. "Snape mentioned them in class today and I was interested."

"I'm in Defence Against the Dark Arts," Nott said. "I don't remember Snape saying anything about Vanishing Cabinets."

"You weren't paying attention," Draco said. "You were talking to Parkinson or somebody."

"Alright, then," Nott said. "But, I've been meaning to tell you, about your task... If you ever need help or anything, I'm here, alright?"

"I won't need help," Draco said.

"Okay," Nott said. "But if you do..."

"I'll keep that in mind," Draco said, "But I have everything under control."

What a lie that was. He had nothing under control.


	5. Chapter 5

It is so nice to be home, and so nice to be writing again. I hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Have fun reading!

Disclaimer: I much as I wish otherwise, I still don't own Harry Potter. Such a shame.

**Chapter 5**

Like the vast majority of sixth and fourth years, Hermione, Harry and Ron were sitting in the Gryffindor Common Room talking about Dumbledore's new project.

"Ernie MacMillan is so full of himself," Ron complained. "Thinks he's so smart, and always talking about how helpful he is..." He shook his head. "It's going to be a long year."

Harry nodded. "Enduring Goyle twice a week is going to be damaging to my intelligence. Still," he added, looking at Hermione, "better Goyle than Malfoy."

Ron cringed. "Oh yeah, that must suck, Hermione."

"It won't be pleasant, that's for sure," Hermione said. "But with Snape choosing our partners, I wasn't expecting much better. At least Malfoy's somewhat intelligent."

"Yeah, I suppose," Ron said. "But he's also Malfoy."

"Yes, that's true," Hermione said. "But I'll be okay. I actually annoyed him so much he left early."

The other two laughed, and then Harry said, "Really, you being with Malfoy is a good thing, Hermione."

"What? _Why?_" Ron was incredulous, but Hermione thought she knew where this was going, and frowned.

"Now Hermione can keep an eye on him," Harry explained, "and make sure he's not up to anything suspicious."

"We've talked about this, Harry," Hermione said. "And besides, I highly doubt Malfoy would do anything in front of _me. _He's not stupid."

"Yeah," Harry said. "But still, keep an eye on him, will you, Hermione?"

"Fine, but I still don't see how Malfoy can be a Death Eater."

"That's because you're not _thinking, _Hermione! You never _think! _Just listen-_"_

"You guys talking about the project?"

Harry was lucky Lavender had interrupted, because Hermione was not happy. Accusing her of not _thinking? _Did Harry not know she was the most logical, rational, _thinking _person on the planet? Hermione wasn't egotistical; it was the truth. She knew it.

"Hi, Lavender," Ron said. Hermione frowned. Ron hadn't defended her, or even seemed angry at Harry's insult. She resolved not to speak to either of them for the rest of the day, and turned her attention to Lavender as well.

"Yeah, we are," she said. "Can you believe I'm stuck with _Malfoy?_"

"That's annoying," Lavender said, looking at Ron. "Here, let me sit," she said, sitting in between Hermione and Ron. Hermione scooted to the side to give her more room, but it wasn't necessary. Lavender had sat so close to Ron she was practically on his lap and was now staring avidly at him.

Hermione didn't know whether to be angry or amused. She didn't think Ron would ever start dating Lavender, didn't think he'd even think about it. Still, though, she couldn't pretend that it didn't bother her slightly. Hermione had liked Ron for ages; Lavender wasn't supposed to suddenly decide she was in love with him. Unfortunately, Lavender was much more forward about her affections than Hermione. Sooner or later, Ron was bound to notice. Hermione sighed.

"Theodore Nott is a complete _bully,_" Lavender was complaining. "He insulted me the whole time. I can't believe I have to spend the whole _year_ with him. He's awful. He said I was a disgrace to purebloods everywhere, and ugh, I just hate him so much!"

"Sorry, Lavender," Harry said. "That's awful." But he exchanged a weary look with Hermione. _I would hate to share a dorm with her, _he mouthed, and Hermione decided to forgive him for his previous rudeness.

"I know, thank you, Harry," Lavender said. "I don't want to have to see him again on Thursday. He really hurts my feelings."

"Poor Lavender," Ron said. "Don't listen to Nott."

"At least Nott doesn't ridicule your blood," Hermione said. "_I _have to endure Malfoy calling me Mudblood every time he sees me. It's like his personal nickname for me."

Why did she feel the need to say that? Was she seriously making this into a contest? Hermione didn't want to get into an argument about whether Malfoy or Nott was a worse human being. Knowing Lavender, she was going to start bringing up every single mean thing Nott did or said to her, and it was going to drive Hermione crazy.

Sure enough, Lavender shook her head. "Trust me, Nott's _much _worse than Malfoy. He nearly made me cry, he was being so mean. I don't think I can stand having to spend the whole year with him."

"Yeah, but it's only few months. Malfoy's been trying to make me cry for years," Hermione said, and then wished she could take it back. "Anyway," she said, standing up, before she could embarrass herself further. "I'm going to bed."

* * *

The next few weeks were extremely aggravating. Every Tuesday and Thursday, Hermione was forced to meet with Malfoy, but that wasn't even the worst part. After the meetings with their partners, Lavender would whine and complain about how much she hated Theodore Nott. She seemed to find it necessary to prove to Hermione (in front of Ron, usually), how much worse of a partner Nott was over Malfoy.

And what was especially annoying was that she was probably right! Malfoy was being quite tolerable; he always insulted her as a greeting, of course, but after that he usually sat quietly, working on homework and scarcely saying a word. It was out of character, and it was infuriating.

Today, especially. Lavender had taken it upon herself to sit as close to Hermione as possible, separated from her and Malfoy by only a few bookshelves. Hermione could hear her every single time she raised her voice at Nott, which was extremely frequently.

"Blimey, that girl can talk," Malfoy said, after a rather loud "Shut up, Nott!" He shook his head. "She must have banshee blood in her family."

Hermione smiled a little. "You're probably right." And then she had an idea. "Hey, feel like bullying me in front of them?" she asked, dropping her voice.

"Who, Brown and Nott?"

Hermione nodded. "Lavender has been trying to prove to me that she got the worst partner, and she won't shut up about it! I have to listen to her list every single rude thing Nott says to her and it's driving me insane. Maybe if she hears you bothering me she'll stop."

"I don't think you could be more insane than you already are, Granger," Malfoy said, starting to smirk. And then, "Sure, I'd do that."

"Really?" Hermione asked, surprised.

Malfoy shrugged. "Can't miss a chance to insult you, can I?"

"I just didn't think you'd ever help me is all," she said, and looked at him. He shrugged again, not saying anything, his face set in that annoying smirk. Hermione looked at her watch, and began packing up her books and parchment. "Class is nearly over," she said. "Put away your things and we can walk past their table as we leave."

"Not going to thank me, Granger?"

"I'll thank you when we're done."

After Malfoy finished putting his paper in his book bag (he took a very long to do it, much to Hermione's displeasure), they stood up, and made their way towards Lavender and Nott's table. As soon as Lavender saw them, she ceased the argument she was having with Nott and sat up straighter, looking at them. The Slytherin also turned to see what was going on. Hermione pretended not to notice them watching and gave Malfoy a meaningful look.

He smirked and threw an arm around Hermione's shoulder, pulling her to his side. Hermione froze. This had _not _been part of the plan.

"Hey," Malfoy said loudly. "You know that Potions book I lent you? I need it back soon; I need it for my essay."

"What are you doing?" Hermione hissed.

"What's that? You lost it? Oh, that's alright; I'll buy another. Come, Hermione, I'll help you look for it."

And with that, he waltzed away, dragging Hermione with him.

As soon as they were out of the library, Malfoy shoved her away from him and looked at his robes in disgust. "I'll have to burn these now," he said.

Hermione shook her head. She should have known. "Thanks." She stamped her foot. "For nothing!"

Malfoy laughed. "You should have seen Brown's face!" he said gleefully. "I thought her eyes were going to bug out of her head. And the look on _your _face was just as good. As if I would actually help you."

Hermione merely glared at him, unable to find words. If she wasn't a Prefect, she'd hex him. Make boils erupt all over his pretty face, and see if he was still smirking after that.

"See ya, Granger," Malfoy said, and turned and began walking away.

"You are a bullying git," Hermione shouted to his retreating back. "And you'll get what's coming for you!"

He only laughed.


	6. Chapter 6

Hello to everyone reading this! School has started again, and has brought quite a decrease in the time I have to write, but I'm going to try to keep chapters coming as quickly as I can!

I'd like to say a big thank you for all of my reviewers! Your feedback is hugely appreciated and your kind words make me smile. Thank you also to everyone who has followed or favourite this story as well; it warms my heart to know people enjoy my writing. Anyhow, I suppose you aren't here to listen to me talk, so onto the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. See, if I did, this wouldn't be fanfiction, now would it?

**Chapter 6**

The only reason Draco had left the Room of Requirement early was that he needed to clear up that incident with Granger with his friends, whom Nott was surely telling all about it. Or at least, that's what he told himself.

_You're too scared to stay there long_, said the voice in his head, _and too stupid to figure out the Vanishing Cabinet, that's why you left. _

Draco tried to ignore it as he walked towards the Slytherin Common Room well before he needed to be in his dormitory. Besides, he reasoned with himself, it wasn't even October, he had plenty of time to fix the Vanishing Cabinet. When he finally forced the voice out of his head, it was replaced by an image of Dumbledore, and Draco wasn't sure which was worse. He began to walk faster.

As soon as he entered the Slytherin Common Room, a great cry of "Where were you?!" came his way.

"Hello, Parkinson," he said dryly as he approached his friends. "Nice to see you missed me."

She didn't even smile. "Why weren't you at dinner?" she demanded.

"I was," Draco said. "I went there early, must have missed you guys."

"We were there pretty early," Zabini remarked.

"I eat fast," said Draco.

"You didn't just eat toast again, did you?" Parkinson said, narrowing her eyes at him. "I've been watching you, and you haven't been eating enough, Draco."

"Malfoy," he corrected. "And _no, _I didn't just eat toast."

"Alright, Malfoy," she said, but still looked suspicious.

Draco knew his eating had decreased quite dramatically this year, but he didn't have the time anymore to eat huge meals. He needed as much time as he could get to work on the Vanishing Cabinet. And besides, somehow the sight of Dumbledore at meals always seemed to destroy his appetite.

"_Anyway," _said Nott, "before you got here, Malfoy, I was just telling the others about how friendly you were with Granger earlier today."

Draco glared at him, but secretly he was glad for the change in subject. "Trust me, I am not getting friendly with Granger," he said, and then proceeded to tell his friends what had happened.

They all laughed, and began talking about Granger and other annoying people, but the whole time, Draco couldn't get the image of the Vanishing Cabinet that he was currently neglecting out of his head. And Dumbledore.

His head was constantly plagued with Dumbledore.

* * *

September soon turned into October and along with cooling in temperature, the changing month brought another problem. Snape had begun requesting Draco to his office, and Draco knew why.

He hadn't gone yet, of course. He knew what Snape wanted to talk about, and he really did not need Snape badgering him about what he was doing and more likely, what he wasn't doing. Draco knew he hadn't done a lot. But the Dark Lord had given him until the end of the school year to kill Dumbledore, and if Draco wanted to take his time, he would take his time. Plotting couldn't be rushed.

And besides, it wasn't like Snape was going to tell anyone that Draco wasn't coming to his office when called. He couldn't tell Dumbledore on Draco, because than Dumbledore would want to know why Snape wanted to see Draco. Draco figured that if he avoided Snape as best he could, and left Defence Against the Dark Arts as fast as possible, he was in the clear. For a while, at least.

It was extremely irritating, though. Draco had enough problems without adding Snape to them. His teacher had started entering his dreams, which were already occupied with Dumbledore and the Dark Lord, and were bordering on nightmarish.

Twice, his dreams did become nightmares, and he woke up gasping. He couldn't even remember what had happened in the dream, when he lay there awake afterwards, unable to get back to sleep. The Dark Lord was there, that much he knew.

Since even in his sleep thoughts of his task plagued him, the only reprieve from the misery was the time spent with Granger. He had stopped spending those classes trying to do homework quietly, and instead spent the time trying to get under his enemy's skin. It proved to be a challenge, because Granger seemed determined not to let him provoke her. But Draco was a Slytherin; he loved challenges, and soon, he promised himself, he would get a rise out of her.

The only other activity that helped clear Draco's head of depressing thoughts was Quidditch. He had always loved flying, and Quidditch practice was, incidentally, where he was now. He sat on his broomstick, feet above the ground, and the breeze was on his face and for this glorious moment, his head was empty as his eyes searched for the Golden Snitch.

Until he saw Snape walking towards the Quidditch Pitch, and all his thought of Dumbledore and otherwise returned to him at full force. Snape beckoned the Slytherins towards the ground, and Draco reluctantly followed the rest of his team.

"I'm sorry to cut this short," Snape said. "But I need to borrow Mr. Malfoy for a moment."

Draco glared at Snape. He had to hand it to him, though. Snape was clever, catching him where he couldn't run away.

He sighed, and followed his professor towards the castle.

* * *

The second Snape closed the door to his office, he turned on Draco.

"The Dark Lord is upset about your lack of progress," he said. "What, exactly, have you been doing?"

"Lack of progress?" Draco repeated. "It's October. Things like this take time; surely the Dark Lord knows that? And besides," he added, before Snape could reply, "what I've been doing is none of your business."

Snape sighed, and lowered his voice, even though there was no one else around, and Draco got the impression that this was what he really wanted to talk about. "Look, Draco," he said, "I've made an Unbreakable Vow with your mother."

"What?"

"She's asked me to protect you. She's worried about you, and... she's asked me to perform the task instead of you."

Draco stared at his former favourite teacher, not knowing what to feel. Hurt, that his mother didn't think him capable of completing his task himself? Guilt, that she was probably right?

Relief? Except...

"It doesn't matter what my mother wants," he told Snape. "The Dark Lord wants _me_ to do it; I have to do it! He'll kill me otherwise."

"That is all true," Snape said. "But I believe we can plead for mercy. We'll tell the Dark Lord that you had devised the plan, but could not carry out the murder. The Dark Lord is a kind and merciful lord, and I believe he will listen to be if I talk to him in your defence."

The Dark Lord, kind and merciful? Snape was delusional if he thought that. Maybe they could ask the Dark Lord for mercy. But Draco wasn't going to risk his life on that chance. He shook his head. "I have to do it," he repeated. "I have to do it. I don't _care _what you promised my mother," he said fiercely, as Snape opened his mouth. "The Dark Lord chose me; I have to do it!"

Snape looked down at Draco, his mouth in a small frown. "Alright, Draco," he said. "We'll talk again at a later date. Now leave my office."

Draco quickly obliged. As he walked away, he replayed the meeting again and again in his head, wondering if he should have taken Snape up on his offer.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 is here! I hope you enjoy it!

Huge thank you to AwesomeDolphin for reviewing; you rock!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

**Chapter 7**

Not even two months into the school year, and already she and Ron were cross with each other. Arguing was one of the only things they ever did, Hermione thought. They phrase 'bickering like a married couple' had crossed her mind more than once, but she was getting quite tired of it. Especially since the reason for the fight was particularly stupid this time.

It had started the day after Malfoy had tricked her and acted like they were friends in front of Lavender. She had returned to the Gryffindor Common Room after Arithmancy and Ron, who had had a free period, was already there. He had a stony expression on his face as he beckoned her over.

"Hey," she said, sitting down beside him. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Everything's fine," Ron said pointedly. "Except that Lavender told me that you and Malfoy are dating or something."

"_What? _Malfoy and I, wha –oh." She had the sudden urge to strangle Lavender, and an even greater urge to strangle Ron for believing her. "No, Malfoy and I are _not _dating. Lavender just misunderstood."

Ron still looked angry. "Don't tell me you're 'just friends', because that's almost as bad. Friends with Malfoy," he added darkly, as if it were a sin.

Hermione sighed. "No, Ron," she said. "Malfoy was simply acting nice to me to mess with Lavender's head." And she proceeded to explain what had happened in detail.

Ron nodded slowly, the muscles in his face loosening. "Ah," he said. "So Malfoy was just being a git, as always."

Hermione smiled, and put her hand on Ron's shoulder. "Exactly," she replied. "Next time, don't be stupid and jump to conclusions." She had meant the words to be light, but they had come out slightly harsher than she would have liked. She searched her mind for something to say to soften the blow, but her friend's smile had already slid off of his face like rain on a window.

"Stupid," he repeated. "Yeah, I guess that's me."

"I didn't mean –Ro n, come on, you know I didn't mean that. You're not stupid, you're-"

"No," Ron interrupted. "No, I know I'm stupid. Don't worry about it." Although the look on his face told her she _should _be worrying about it. It was a mixture of hurt and anger, his mouth twisted in an odd grimace, and Hermione wondered why that one comment bothered him so much.

"Oh, come on Ron. You're _not _stupid, that was the wrong word, I only meant..." She looked at his narrowed eyes. "You really shouldn't be getting so worked up about this," she said.

"I said don't worry about it," Ron repeated. "Yeah, you're right, I'm not stupid. But I'm nowhere near as brilliant as_ you_, am I?"

"Well, I-"

But he stood up and walked into the boys dormitories, leaving her mouth open midsentence.

* * *

Although he didn't say anything, Ron remained cross with her the next day. And the one after that. And the one after that. And Hermione was upset with him, too. Her friend was so sensitive! _Obviously _she didn't think he was stupid; she had only been teasing, and if Ron couldn't see that, than good riddance!

There seemed to be some unspoken agreement between the two to pretend that everyone was fine, but whenever they conversed, the tenseness radiated off them in waves (or so it seemed to Hermione, at least), so she wasn't surprised when Harry confronted her asking what was wrong between her and Ron.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "He's overly sensitive and he holds grudges; that's the only problem." She crossed her arms. "If the idiot would just calm down..."

"He'll come around," said Harry. "He always does."

Hermione nodded. It was true. That was just how Ron's brain worked. He'd get upset, hold a grudge for weeks or even months, and then one day decide everything was fine again. Still, it hurt to be fighting with her friend.

Hermione was reflecting on this as she returned to the Gryffindor Common Room after a night of studying in the library. She had been in the library to avoid the awkwardness of dealing with Ron, but it was getting late, and with any luck, he and everyone else would be in bed. As she climbed through the portrait hole, she fully expected to be greeted by silence.

Instead, however, she found Ron and Lavender sitting on an armchair, limbs tangled together, kissing passionately. Hermione shut her eyes tightly, and put a hand on her chest, feeling her quick heartbeat. Maybe, if she stood still long enough, when she opened her eyes, it would turn out she had been imagining things. She counted to ten, holding her breath. And then, feeling rather unsteady on her feet, she opened her eyes again.

Ron and Lavender were still there, and as she watched, horrified, Ron brought his lips to Lavender's neck and she could hear sucking noises. Hermione felt sick. Ron and Lavender... this wasn't supposed to happen! Her eyes felt hot, and she knew she needed to get to her dorm before she started crying. She forced her frozen legs to move, trying to make the least amount of noise as possible.

The couple on the chair heard her, though, and turned to look at her. Hermione froze, hoping her shaking hands wouldn't give her away.

"Hello, Hermione!" Lavender said brightly, smiling.

"Hello," Hermione said, and her voice sounded much higher than normal.

Ron looked as though he would have liked to say something, but Hermione fled to her dorms before he could open his mouth.

* * *

The next morning Hermione could still feel the sickness in her stomach, but her tears had dried, and she vowed to keep them away. She got out of bed before Parvati or especially Lavender woke up, and made her way into the Common Room.

Harry was sitting on a chair waiting for her, and as soon as he saw her he stood up and drew her into his arms for a hug.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "Ron told me you saw them; I'm so sorry, Hermione."

"It's okay," Hermione said into his shirt. "I'm okay. I'm okay," she repeated, and her voice became stronger. "I don't care who Ron kisses. Ron can do whatever he wants!"

It was a lie, and they both knew it, but Harry smiled and said, "Of course you're okay." He withdrew his arms, and squeezed her on the shoulder before saying, "Come, let's go to breakfast before Ron gets up."

Hermione nodded. "Okay," she said.

The pair exited the Gryffindor Common Room, and the whole way Hermione repeated the words _I'm okay_ in her head like a mantra, waiting for them to become true.


	8. Chapter 8

Well, I had hoped to upload this chapter much earlier than this, but my computer was having issues. Everything seems to be fixed now, though, so enjoy! I'm sorry aiut the longer wait, but if it's any consolation, this is the longest chapter yet!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Never have, never will.

**Chapter 8**

Draco was walking to the Great Hall a few days after the incident with Snape, when he came across Weasley and Lavender Brown walking together and holding hands.

_Interesting, _he thought.

"Break up with Granger, Weasley?" he called, and the pair looked over to him.

"Get lost, Malfoy," Weasley snapped, and he sped up, pulling Brown along behind him.

Draco distinctly heard her say, "What's he mean, break up with Granger, Ron?" in a worried sort of tone.

"Nothing, Lav," Weasley replied. "Don't worry about it."

Draco smirked. _Very interesting._

When he arrived in the Great Hall, he slid in beside Zabini, who was already eating pancakes. Draco filled up his plate and gazed over at the Gryffindor table; more specifically, at Weasley and Brown. They were sitting extremely close to each other, and Brown was feeding Weasley pieces of bacon. Potter was sitting next to him looking decidedly uncomfortable. Draco's eyes swept the table, looking for Granger. He finally found her sitting far away from her friends, beside Weasley's sister. She was staring at her plate and not eating.

Draco smirked.

"Something funny?" Zabini said coldly.

Draco blinked at him. "What's the matter with you?" he asked.

Zabini glared at him. "Pansy has been talking to you for the past five minutes," he said. "And you haven't been paying any attention."

Draco looked at Parkinson. She nodded, frowning.

"Okay, Parkinson," Draco said. "What were you saying?"

She shook her head. "It wasn't important," she said, eyes on her plate. "Although if you said sorry, that would be nice."

Nott stood up. "I'm going to leave before this gets awkward," he announced, and Crabbe and Goyle followed him obediently.

Draco turned his attention back to Parkinson. "I don't see why I have to apologize," he said. "I was distracted is all."

She said nothing, but the hurt in her eyes was evident. Draco nearly felt guilty.

Zabini gave Draco a disgusted look. "You can't even apologize," he said flatly. "What were you looking at that was so distracting, anyway?" he added.

"Weasley and Brown got together," Draco said. "I was looking forward to how devastated Granger's going to be."

There was silence, and then Parkinson said, "_Seriously? _You pay more attention to your enemies than your friends?"

Draco shrugged. "Keep your friends close, enemies closer, and all that," he said in a light tone, but Parkinson and Zabini's expressions were far from light.

"You don't keep us close at all though," Pansy said bitterly. "We've been friends since we were little, but you tell me nothing about you."

Zabini nodded. "You're more distant now more than ever. I don't know what's bothering you, but has it ever occurred to you that maybe we want to? That we care about you? And now you've gone and hurt Pansy," he added, eyes narrowing. He sighed. "We're your friends, Malfoy; we'd appreciated if you treated us like it."

"I don't _need_ friends," Draco snapped. "I don't need them, and I don't want them. All you do is get on my nerves. And I don't care if people care about me," he added.

Zabini shoved his plate away from him and it clanked loudly against the other plates. He stood up and threw his hands on the table. "Fine," he said. "We'll stop bothering you then, if that's when if you want." When Draco said nothing, he gave him one last look of disgust and said, "Come on, Pansy," and began to walk away.

Parkinson's eyes were filled with tears as she looked at him. She pushed her plate away and stood up as well. "Bye, Draco," she said in not much more of a whisper.

"Malfoy," he corrected sharply, but she had already gone after Zabini.

Draco glared at all the other Slytherins who had been watching the exchange before getting up and exiting the Great Hall as well.

* * *

Draco's day had been so crappy, he was glad to when it was finally time to meet with Granger. Bringing up Weasley and Brown's relationship was definitely going to get her all worked up. Maybe, if he tried hard, he could get her so angry she'd try to slap him. That would get his mind off his horrible day. Parkinson and Zabini hadn't talked to him since breakfast, hadn't gone anywhere near him. They didn't sit with him at classes, nor at lunch, and Draco was forced to watch Zabini and Nott laughing hysterically while working on their Potions, and Parkinson giggling with her female friends during Defence Against the Dark Arts, like they didn't notice or care that he wasn't there. Goyle had sat beside him at the beginning of lunch, but had moved to sit with Zabini, Nott, and Crabbe when Draco wasn't being very responsive to his talking.

When he reached his and Granger's table in the library, she was already there, slouched forward, her head bent over a book. When he pulled a chair out and sat down across from her, she looked up.

"You're early," she said, looking at him.

"As are you," he remarked.

"I was reading," she said, tilting the cover of the book for him to see.

"Fascinating," he said without looking at it.

There was silence for a while, until Granger shut her book and sighed. "Good day, Malfoy?" she asked.

"Alright," Draco said. She gave him an unimpressed look, and he added, "Parkinson and Zabini were getting on my nerves, but other than that it was good. Yourself?" he asked.

She shrugged. "It was fine. Arithmancy was very interesting today."

_Yes, well, that's because Weasley's not in that class, isn't it? _he wanted to say, but didn't. He needed to wait until the right moment. Let her get comfortable, give her time to think that this was a time to get away from that.

"It was good," Draco said. "As good as Arithmancy can be, anyway,"

"Arithmancy's always good!" she said. "It's so interesting, it's my favourite subject!"

He rolled his eyes. "Are there any subjects you _don't _like, Granger?"

She thought about it. "Divination," she said finally. "But I only took that half of third year. Divination is ridiculous; not even wizards can see the future. And Trelawney is such a fraud."

"She is," Draco agreed. "But that's seriously the only subject you dislike?"

She pinked. "What's wrong with that?" she said defensively. "I happen to like learning."

He laughed. "You're so _boring_, Granger," he said. And then, because he couldn't hold it back, "Is that why Weasley broke up with you?"

Granger reeled back, like his words had physically hit her.

"But then, he can't have," Draco continued, "because you two were never together. Although it's obvious to anyone with half a brain that you're in love with him. It's no wonder he chose Brown though," he said the words lazily, but his eyes were alert, watching her reaction. "She's prettier, funnier, livelier-"

"Shut up," she commanded.

"And you're just a boring bookworm who can't keep her ugly nose out a book. Admit it, Granger," he said coldly. "Weasley will never see you as more than a friend."

"At least I _have _friends!" she shot.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Draco said. "I have friends."

"No you don't," Granger's eyes were alight with anger. "You said it yourself; you called them Parkinson and Zabini. Friends don't call each other by their last names. They also don't boss their so-called friends around all the time."

"I don't-"

"Crabbe and Goyle?" she interrupted. "And I wouldn't be surprised if they hated you, for how mean you are to them. You may be under the delusion that everybody is in love with you, but they're not. Everyonehates you Malfoy, even the teachers hate you. No wonder you don't have friends."

"Granger," he said quietly, but she was on a roll.

"Ron and I may have rows, but at least he's a real friend. At least I have real friends, but you're alone. You'll always be alone. And I don't have to hide behind people, like you hide behind Crabbe and Goyle, because I, unlike you, am not a coward."

"Granger," he said again. "Shut up." He did not want to hear this, about being alone and being a coward. Not now.

"You're a coward, Malfoy," she said. "A coward, and a bully, heartless, and friendless. You should have stayed a ferret in fourth year, because everyone liked you better as one."

Draco had to get out. He needed to get out of there before he let Granger get the satisfaction of knowing she'd hurt him. He stood up, swept his books off the table, and exited the library before Granger could say another word.

As he walked, he reflected on what she had said, about him having no friends. And the more he thought about it, the more he thought that maybe it was true. He never opened up to Zabini and Parkinson. He had no friends. He was alone. He was alone, and at the end of the year he was going to die, alone and hated.

He found himself out by the lake, without consciously choosing to go there. He sat down and gazed at the water. It was calm today; the sun was shining and he could hear birds. He brought a hand to his face to find that he was crying. He quickly wiped the tears away.

Shortly after, he heard footsteps, and Granger came to sit beside him. He did not look at her.

She sighed. There was a long pause, and then she spoke. "What would you do if I said sorry?" she asked.

"What would _you _do if I pushed you into the lake?" he retorted, still not looking at her.

"Scream 'Malfoy, you idiot,' probably."

"Well, I wouldn't forgive you for one thing."

A long pause.

"I'm sorry," she said.

He turned to look at her. She was looking at him with an expression he couldn't place, which annoyed him. He had thought he was good at reading people.

"You're not forgiven," he said finally.

"I know," she said, and sighed. "Look, I didn't mean what I said. I've been having kind of a rough time, and I needed to get some anger out, and you..." she trailed off.

"_You've _been having a rough time?" he said incredulously. "Yeah, your problems with Weasley must been really tough."

She glared, but then seemed to change her mind, and her expression softened. "Yeah," she said quietly. "I guess the whole thing is kind of petty." She looked at him thoughtfully. "Why, what have you been going through?"

"Like that's any of your business, Granger," he said. He narrowed his eyes. "Why are you apologizing, anyway?" he asked. "I'm always so mean to you."

"I know," she said, "but just because we don't get along doesn't give me the right to hurt you. I felt bad."

"I hurt you all the time," he said. "And I never feel bad."

"Yeah, well, I guess that's the difference between you and me." She looked at her watch, and then stood up. "We'd better get back," she told him. "Class will be over soon."

He stood up as well, and they stood there for a moment, looking at each other. She turned at started walking back towards the castle. Then she stopped at looked at him again.

"I really am sorry," Granger said. "Forgive me?"

There was a part of him that wanted to, really wanted to. But the part of him that could never accept an apology, especially from his enemy was greater. He couldn't accept her apology. But he could do something better.

"Come back here, Granger," he said softly, gesturing over to where he was, closer to the ledge overlooking the lake.

She looked curiously at him, but complied.

He leaned in close to her, as if he were going to say something, and then at the last moment, raised his arms and pushed her off the ledge.

Granger fell into the lake with a loud splash, and Draco laughed.

She surfaced, coughing and spitting, and then glared at him. "Malfoy, you idiot!" she yelled, which only made him laugh harder.

She looked at him laughing, and then, seemingly unable to help herself, started laughing too.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 is here! I hope it's enjoyable.

A huge thank you to Kopitar and luli585 for reviewing! Hearing your opinions and feedback means a lot to me.

**Chapter 9**

Hermione was chest deep in freezing cold water, and her toes were starting to go numb, but at that moment nothing could be funnier. Malfoy was laughing hysterically, and it was a real laugh too, not a mean laugh, and Hermione realized that this was the best she had felt all day. The pain of Ron and Lavender was gone, if only for a moment.

It really was cold water, though, so Hermione extended an arm to Malfoy, and said, "A bit of help, please."

To his credit, the Slytherin did help her up onto the ledge, and the pair started the walk back to the castle.

Malfoy was still laughing. "You should have seen your face, Granger," he said.

"Oh, shut up," Hermione muttered, but she couldn't hold back her giggle.

When they reached the door of the castle, Malfoy looked at her expectantly.

"What?" she said.

"You're not going to go into the castle soaking wet, are you?"

"Oh," she said, and performed a drying spell on herself. The cool water droplets disappeared from her skin and the warmth she felt was instantaneous.

"There," she said. "Let's go inside."

Malfoy opened the door, and held it open for her. While she walked through, he started laughing again.

"What's so funny?" she demanded.

He snickered. "Nothing," he said. "You'll find out soon enough. Better hurry, we're going to be late." And he began to walk away.

Hermione looked at her watch. He was right! She quickly headed on to her next, and final –thank goodness –class of the day.

When she reached the Charms classroom, everyone else was already there. Hermione slid into her seat beside Harry. He looked at her.

"Why is your hair all wet?"

Hermione put a hand to her hair. It was dripping with water, and she hadn't even noticed. That must have been what Malfoy had been talking about. She whispered a drying spell on her hair, and a second one on the back of her shirt.

"Oh, no reason," she said, addressing Harry's question. She didn't think her friend would be very pleased if he knew Malfoy had pushed her into the lake, and furthermore, being outside during class was against the rules, and she would never admit to breaking the rules.

"No reason?" Harry said, raising an eyebrow.

She shrugged. "Peeves dropped a water balloon on my head. I forgot to dry my hair."

"Alright then," Harry said. "But why couldn't you have just said that?"

But Professor Flitwick started the class, and Hermione was saved from answering. By the time there was an opportunity to talk again, the incident was forgotten.

* * *

Hermione and Harry exited the Charms room with matching purple hair.

"I don't know why we did colour changing charms; we're in sixth year, not second," Hermione said, changing her hair back to its natural colour.

Harry shrugged. "I think Flitwick thought we needed an easy day for once. We have homework all the time now."

Hermione shrugged. "Sure, but colour charms? Talk about useless."

Harry grinned. "I don't know," he said. "I think I may do my hair like this all the time. I look pretty good, don't I?"

Hermione sat next to Harry at dinner as well. If there was one positive to Ron's involvement with Lavender, it was that she didn't have to listen to Quidditch talk all the time.

"Hey, Harry, ready for the game on Saturday?"

Hermione gave Seamus an annoyed look. Seriously? As soon as she had finished the thought, too.

Harry launched into a rant about how they were going to cream the Slytherins, and Hermione let her mind drift, and her eyes wander. People-watching was always interesting. She noticed Malfoy sitting by the other sixth year Slytherins, but off to the side a little. He was sitting by himself. He kept looking over towards his friends/acquaintances/followers/whatever they were, and Hermione frowned. Perhaps he was in an argument with them, and that was why she had hurt his feelings so badly. Whatever the case, Malfoy was not looking happy. Hermione felt guilty. She should not have said those things. Malfoy looked up and saw her staring at him and gave her a curt nod. She smiled.

* * *

Potions class was particularly awkward, because students sat in groups of three, and Hermione was at a table with Harry, which was fine, and Ron, which was not. Slughorn frowned upon people moving from their assigned seats, so Hermione was stuck there.

Harry must find it really bad, Hermione thought. He was always caught in the middle, unsure of who to talk to. Today, it seemed, was a Ron day. He was relaying to Ron the details of his meeting with Dumbledore, which Hermione had already heard, and did not care to hear again.

Hermione was turning to page that Slughorn had instructed them to turn to, when the door to the classroom swung open. Malfoy and Zabini walked into the classroom, and sat down at their table. Malfoy whispered something to Zabini, and Zabini gave out a loud snort of laughter.

Slughorn glared. "You're late, boys," he said. "5 points from Slytherin for interrupting the class."

"Sorry," Zabini said. Malfoy only rolled his eyes.

Hermione remembered seeing Malfoy sitting by himself only the day before. The two must have made up, she thought, and turned her attention back to Slughorn.

After Slughorn explained the Potion they were to be making that day, Hermione joined the line of people hurrying to the store cupboard. While she waited, she found herself next to Malfoy and Zabini's table, and could hear their conversation perfectly.

"Get me some newt's eyes, will you, Malfoy?" Zabini said to the blond, who was standing up.

Malfoy froze. He breathed in so heavily Hermione could hear it, and then, quietly, he said, "Blaise. Call me Draco."

Zabini's eyes widened, and he smiled. "Draco," he said. "Okay."

Malfoy nodded, and then turned away from Zabini. When he saw Hermione looking at him, he stared at her. And then he smiled.

It was small, yes, but it was undoubtedly there. And it was a real smile, too. Not a smirk, or a mean smile. A tiny, crooked, _genuine _smile that made Malfoy's face look a lot better. Why, he was even kind of handsome. Or cute, at least.

Hermione grinned at him, and hurried up to the store cupboard to get potion ingredients.

When she sat back down, Harry and Ron were talking about the Half-Blood Prince's additions to the potion they were making. Hermione glared at them, but Harry didn't notice, and Ron just glared back.

Hermione rolled her eyes, and turned to begin her potion. Then, unable to help herself, she looked over to see if Malfoy was still smiling.

He wasn't.

He was laughing at something Zabini had said.

"What are you looking at?" Harry asked.

Hermione shook her head. "Nothing," she said, and forced herself to look at her potion's book.

Her eyes were acting of their own will, however, and every couple of minutes, she found herself watching Malfoy. She had never noticed before that her table was at the perfect diagonal to see him without turning and yet still see parts of his face.

After thirty minutes, her potion was nowhere near the turquoise colour it was meant to be.

"Ah, perfect again, Mr. Potter!" came Slughorn's voice from beside her. "5 points to Gryffindor."

Hermione looked over. Sure enough, Harry's potion was a brilliant turquoise, unlike her deep blue one.

Slughorn bent over, examining her potion. "Not up to your usual standard, Ms. Granger," he remarked.

Hermione scowled.

Perhaps she'd go back to staring at Malfoy.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 is here! I really like this chapter, and I hope you all enjoy it too.

Disclaimer: I'm not J.K. Rowling.

**Chapter 10**

Granger had been staring at him all through Potions, and Draco had no idea why. He restrained himself from turning to stare back, but he could feel her eyes on him, like tiny pinpricks on his neck. Honestly, it was kind of creepy.

"Zabi- Blaise, have you noticed that Granger's been watching me all class?" he asked his friend.

"Really?" Blaise turned to see, and Draco hissed, "Don't look at her; I don't want her to know we're talking about her."

Blaise turned back to face Draco and shrugged. "It doesn't matter, because she wasn't looking at us. She was glaring into her cauldron."

Draco frowned. "Well, she was staring at me before. I could _feel _her eyes on me; it was really weird."

Blaise shrugged again. "Maybe she's in love with you," he said.

"_What?!" _ Draco exclaimed. "That's _ridiculous!"_

Blaise laughed. "Relax, I was only joking."

"Good," Draco said. "Because that was the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

"You should've seen your face, though," Blaise said, and then glanced back towards Granger. "Just ask her at the end of class why she was staring at you." He smirked. "Do it in front of Potter or Weasley and you'll really embarrass her."

"You're brilliant, Blaise," Draco said, and he suddenly couldn't wait until the bell.

There were only about five minutes to go, so he didn't have to wait long. When the bell clanged, Draco stood up and lazily walked over to Granger, hands in pockets.

"Granger," he said, and she looked at him.

"Malfoy," she said.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Weasley asked, crossing his arms.

Draco smirked. "Oh, nothing. I merely wanted to ask Granger why she was staring at me all class."

"I was _not!" _Granger retorted, but her flushed cheeks told otherwise.

"Don't lie," he said curtly. "I could _feel _you staring at me. Slytherins can sense that sort of thing. Now," he continued, "Blaise thinks you're in love with me, but..."

She gaped at him. "That's stupid," she said finally.

"Yes, that's what I said, but I suppose you never know."

Potter and Weasley were watching the exchange back and forth like a tennis match, and it was quite hilarious. Lavender Brown was waiting for Weasley, but he didn't even notice her, and she apparently gave up and left.

"I wasn't even staring at you," Granger said crossly. "Or if I was, it's because I was angry with you."

He frowned. "What for? It can't be because you I pushed you into the lake, because you were laughing after that."

"I don't need a reason to be angry with you," Granger said, and before Draco could reply, Slughorn walked over to where they were standing.

"The bell has rung, gentlemen and Ms. Granger," he said. "Perhaps you should carry on your conversation outside of this classroom."

"Yes, of course, Professor," Granger said, and she gathered her books in her arms, and then exited the classroom. Potter and Weasley quickly followed suit, and he could hear Potter say, "He pushed you in the _lake?!" _after they had left the classroom.

Draco laughed and returned to his table to collect his books.

* * *

After dinner Draco found himself in the Slytherin common room with his friends. Yes, he knew he should be working on the Vanishing Cabinet, but he just couldn't bring himself to.

He had had an encounter with Snape with dinner, which may have had something to do with his lack of enthusiasm with his task.

He had been leaving the Great Hall when he felt a hand grab onto the back of his robes.

"Pansy, I swear," he snapped (the girl had been hugging him and grabbing onto him all diner, delighted to finally be able to call him by his first name), but when he turned, it was his Potions Professor's face he stared into.

"Uh, sorry, Professor," he said. "I thought you were Pansy."

"Draco," Snape said, drawing himself up to look down at Draco. "I must ask you: have you progressed much further in your plans since we last spoke?"

"Yes," Draco lied.

"Are you ready to tell me what, exactly, you are doing?"

"It's none of your business what I'm doing," Draco said, glaring at Snape. "I thought I told you that?"

Snape was staring at Draco intensely, and it was scaring him a little, but he forced himself to keep glaring.

"Have you thought about what I told you, about me doing the task for you?"

"Yes," Draco said shortly.

"And?"

"My answer hasn't changed."

"I see," Snape said, his eyes narrowed. And then they softened. "I could do it for you," he said. "You wouldn't have to dirty your hands."

Draco wanted to say yes. How could he possibly kill Dumbledore? It would be so, so much easier to give the job to Snape.

But. The Dark Lord had been very clear when he said Draco was to do the deed. And even clearer of the consequences of failure.

Draco turned away from Snape, and exited the Great Hall.

"It is November!" Snape called after him. "Time is ticking!"

Draco knew time was running short, but he also knew there was no way he would be able to work on the Vanishing Cabinet tonight.

And so he went to his Common Room, where he was now. He was sitting on a couch, with Pansy leaning on his shoulder. Theodore (calling Nott by his first name was quite odd) and Blaise were in armchairs. Crabbe and Goyle (Draco couldn't call them Vincent and Gregory; it was just too weird) were at a table playing cards (neither of them could quite remember the rules to the game they were playing though, so it wasn't working out too well).

Pansy seemed to think it necessary to make up for all of the years of calling Draco by his last name and was overusing his first name to the point of annoyance. She wasn't saying his name normally either, drawing it out far too long. (As far as he knew, his name was not spelled 'Draaaaco.' But who knew, maybe he was wrong.) She had also said his name was weird, and even though he knew she was teasing, it irked him to no end.

When she put a hand on his leg, Draco had finally had enough.

"Pansy," he said. "Can I talk to you for a moment?" He jerked his head towards the Common Room door.

"Okay," Pansy said, and they stood up.

"Be right back," Draco mumbled. Theodore nodded and Blaise looked at them curiously.

When he and Pansy got to the hallway, he looked at her, and took a deep breath. How was he supposed to put this?

"Look, Pansy," he said, avoiding her wide eyes. "I'm not... that is, I don't... I'm not interested in you," he blurted out. "Romantically, I mean. So would you please give it up?"

Pansy's mouth hung open slightly, and she said nothing. Draco tried to prepare himself for the oncoming tears.

Then, suddenly, she was holding her stomach and laughing hysterically.

"You... you think I'm _in love _with you?" she cried, gasping for breath.

Draco opened his mouth. "Well... I... You're always touching me, giving me hugs, and, and saying I need to eat more, and..."

Pansy shook her head. "Oh, Draco," she said, saying his name normally, finally. "I worry about you because I'm your _friend, _idiot."

Draco frowned. He was most definitely _not _an idiot.

"And I'm just a touchy person," she continued. "Which you would know if you ever made the effort to know me properly," she added, poking him in the chest.

"Oh," Draco said stupidly. "I had always thought..."

"That I was in love with you?" Pansy finished, giggling. "I've known you since we were, like, three. Of course I'm not in love with you."

And then her smile slipped off her face and her eyes became downcast. "I just wish," she said, "that you knew me well enough to know that."

Draco wondered if she was purposely trying to make him feel guilty. If she was, it was working.

"I'm sorry, Pansy," he mumbled.

Her eyes lit up. "What was that?" she asked.

Draco cleared his throat. "Sorry," he said. "I'm sorry. I'll try harder."

She smirked. "Draco Malfoy, apologizing. Never thought I'd see it."

"Shut up," Draco muttered, and Pansy threw her arms around him.

"I can't believe you thought I was in love with you," she said. "Honestly." She brought her mouth close to his ear. "Just so you know," she said in barely more than a whisper. "It's Blaise who I like."

"Blaise? But you never touch him..."

"Because I'm _scared_, dummy," Pansy said, letting Draco go. "I can't just go hugging Blaise all the time. What if he figures out I like him?"

Draco frowned. Pansy was such an outgoing person; wouldn't she want Blaise to know she liked him? Girls were so strange, sometimes.

"We should go back; they'll be wondering what's taking so long," Pansy said, and Draco nodded.

She pulled him into another tight hug, and this time, Draco hugged her back, wondering what other friends he'd misjudged.


	11. Chapter 11

It's been three weeks, which is much too long! I'm really sorry; life as been crazy busy. It's calmed down a bit, though, so hopefully I'll have more time to write. Anyway, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 11

Hermione was sitting in the Gryffindor Common Room, thinking about Ron. It was hard not to think about Ron, considering the redhead was only a few feet from her, sitting on a couch and kissing Lavender heatedly.

She and Ron were speaking again, which was nice, but it was still quite tense between them. Hermione thought it would be tense as long as Ron and Lavender where an item. She hoped they'd break up soon, and then maybe things would go back to normal.

_Or, _she thought, imagining herself in Lavender's position. _Maybe they'll be better than normal. _

The thought didn't excite her as much as it would have only a month ago.

Hermione sighed.

Harry, who was sitting beside her, followed her gaze to see where she was looking. He sighed too. "I know how you feel," he said quietly. "I feel the same way."

Hermione nodded absently. Then she thought about what Harry had said, and whipped her head to look at him. "You're in love with Ron too?" she whispered, her mouth dropping open. She blushed. "Not that I mind, I mean, I do, because it's Ron, but I don't care if you-"

"No!" Harry protested. "I am _not _in love with Ron! Although," he said, grinning, "It's nice to hear that you would be supportive."

Hermione felted her face warm even further. Obviously she had interpreted Harry's words completely the wrong way. "Sorry," she mumbled. Eager to change the subject, she asked, "What did you mean, then?"

Harry's grin's faded. "Ginny's dating Dean," he said simply.

"Oh," Hermione said. "I'm sorry, Harry."

"Yeah, well," Harry said. "She's Ron's sister anyway, and you know how overprotective he is."

"You're his best friend," Hermione said. "I'm sure he'd understand."

"Maybe. Wouldn't it be nice if Dean and Lavender fell madly in love with each other? Then maybe you and I could be happy."

"Yeah," Hermione said. "Maybe."

It was too bad life didn't work like that.

* * *

They were having roast beef in the Great Hall today, and it was really good. Ron was shovelling food down like a starving man.

"You'll give yourself a stomach ache, eating so fast," Hermione said.

"Yeah, okay," Ron said, still chewing on beef.

"How you managed to reply with that much food in your mouth is beyond me," Hermione said. "Honestly, it's kind of distasteful."

"Don't be mean," Lavender said, "_I _think it's cute."

Ron grinned, sauce all over his teeth. Hermione rolled her eyes.

There was the clinking sound of a fork against a wine glass, and Hermione turned her head towards the staff table. Dumbledore had stood up.

"This announcement is solely for fourth and sixth years," he said. "If you are not a fourth or sixth year, feel free to ignore me. However, please keep quiet so the fourth and sixth years can hear me."

"This isn't good," Ron said. "If I have to spend even more time with MacMillan, I'll-"

"Shh!" Hermione hissed.

"Professor McGonagall has just informed me that both of your years have received a transfiguration essay just yesterday. And then, well, I was hit with a stroke of genius!"

Seamus snorted. "I bet," he muttered.

"You will now be doing this essay with your partners. Professor McGonagall has no objections to the essay becoming a group assignment, I hope?"

McGonagall shook her head slightly. "However, Professor Dumbledore," she said. "I hope you will discuss with me beforehand before changing one of my assignments next time."

"Yes, well." Dumbledore chuckled. "Sometimes, in one's excitement, one can forget to ask for permission. Carry on with your dinner!" he called out, and sat down.

Hermione frowned. "I've already outlined that essay! What if Malfoy wants to do something different?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't think you need to worry about that, Hermione. Malfoy'll probably be glad to let you do all the work."

"Malfoy _is _quite intelligent, though," Hermione said. "If he's already started, he won't be willing to change, just to annoy me."

Ron looked at her. "Did you just say Malfoy's _intelligent?"_

"Well, he is!" Hermione said. "It's the other aspects of his personality that are less than desirable."

"Yeah, I guess so," Harry said.

* * *

Hermione was sitting in the library, waiting for Malfoy, triple-checking her essay outline. When the Slytherin finally came in, he marched over to Hermione, scowling, and stopped a foot from her. "Come on," he said. "We're going outside."

"That's against the rules," Hermione said. "We'll get in trouble."

"Didn't stop us before," Malfoy said. "Now get up."

Hermione looked at Malfoy, taking in the crazed look in his eyes, and the way his jaw was clenched tightly. The boy looked miserable.

"Okay," she said simply.

He froze. "Really?"

"Sure," Hermione said, standing.

"Would've expected you to be more stubborn, Granger."

She shrugged, and they exited the library.

The hallways were empty, luckily, as most of the students and teachers were in class. Hermione and Malfoy were easily able to slip outside unnoticed, and went and sat by the lake as they had the day Malfoy pushed her in.

"It's cold," Hermione said.

"I like it," Malfoy replied.

There was silence, and then suddenly, as if the words were bursting out of him, Malfoy said. "Do you know anything about Vanishing Cabinets, Granger?"

Hermione looked at him, surprised. Of all the things to ask about. "A little," she said. "They transport the user to different places, but they're very fragile. Why?"

"None of your business," he said in a slightly strained voice.

"Was it Montague who got stuck in the broken Vanishing Cabinet in the Room of Requirement last year?" Hermione asked.

A very odd expression came over Malfoy's face. "Yes," he said. "But let's work on our essay, shall we?"

"Of course," Hermione said, taking her outline out of her bag. "I don't know what you've done, but I've made an outline."

"I haven't done anything," Malfoy said quietly.

"Oh," Hermione said, surprised. "Well, look at this, will you, and tell me what you think?"

Malfoy took the paper from her hand and read it over. When he finished, he set it between them so they could both look at it. "That's good, Granger," he said.

Hermione frowned. "Are you feeling alright? You never compliment me." She was only half joking.

"I'm fine," Malfoy said shortly. "Now let's start."

* * *

It was a very productive work session. When the bell rang, and the pair packed up, they were well into their first draft. Hermione was glad that they hadn't even gotten into one argument. In all honesty, Malfoy had been a very good partner.

They walked back towards the castle in silence. When they reach the door, Malfoy pulled it open and held it for Hermione. She walked through –and ran right into Professor McGonagall.

"Oof!" Hermione quickly backed away from her teacher. "I'm so sorry, Professor."

McGonagall narrowed her eyes. "What were you doing outside, Ms. Granger? And you, Mr. Malfoy?"

Hermione bit her lip. "Um," she said. "We... uh..."

"I wasn't feeling well, Professor," Malfoy said. "I needed fresh air, so we decided to work outside."

"Be that as it may, that is completely against the rules!" McGonagall said. "And both of you are Prefects!" She shook her head. "And with the current state of things, being outside without supervision is very dangerous!"

"Yeah, like the Dark Lord is going to show up in the school grounds in the middle of the day," Malfoy muttered to Hermione, but unfortunately, Professor McGonagall heard him.

Her lips thinned even more. "Detention!" she said. "For both of you! Saturday night with Hagrid! 8 o clock, not one second later! And do not take your safety lightly."

And with that, she turned and walked away, her shoes clacking on the floor.

Malfoy and Hermione stared at her retreating figure.

"We got in trouble for being outside," Malfoy said, breaking the silence. "And our punishment is to _go outside. _ Kind of strange, isn't it?"

Hermione could only agree.


End file.
